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The Shifting Ebola Epidemic

Sun, 2014-11-16 15:29 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES Nov. 16, 2014

EDITORIAL

Recent gains in controlling the Ebola epidemic in West Africa have been encouraging, but they offer no reason for complacency. In Liberia, the hardest-hit country, the rate of new infections has declined in some areas, and several treatment units have been reporting empty beds for more than a month. But in adjacent Sierra Leone the number of new cases has shot upward, while in Guinea, where the epidemic started, the incidence of new cases appears to have stabilized over all, with growth in some districts and declines in others. All told, Ebola has infected more than 14,000 people in West Africa and killed more than 5,000 of them...

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Bats’ Link to Ebola Finally Solved

Thu, 2014-11-13 16:12 — mike kraft

THE DAILY BEAST Nov. 11, 2014
By Carfrie Arnold

A new paper outlines five steps required for a virus to ‘spill over’ from bats to humans. But don’t just blame the bats—deforestation and hunting are to blame, too.

These nocturnal fliers might do some good, but their association with night, rabies, and All Things Creepy means that, at best, we tolerate them. Adding to their negative aura is recent research showing that bats can be the source of infectious diseases like SARS and Ebola, as well as lesser-known pathogens like Hendra and Nipah virus.

It’s all too easy to blame bats for causing these human pandemics, including the most recent (and deadliest) Ebola outbreak. After all, these viruses hang out in bats in between outbreaks—trace any outbreak of these viruses back far enough and you will find a bat.

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GOP chairman rips ‘deadly incompetence’ of UN Ebola response

Thu, 2014-11-13 13:36 — mike kraft

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING: House Foreign Committee Chairman blasts WHO, while AID urges funding to address Ebola hotspots.
(Two stories, scroll down)

THE HILL Nov. 13, 2014

A top Republican is calling for a new strategy to fight Ebola overseas — one that does not rely on the embattled World Health Organization (WHO).

Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, slammed the organization for what he called “deadly incompetence” in the battle against the disease.

“Unfortunately, we are paying the price for early failures,” Royce said at a hearing, arguing that the WHO “repeatedly downplayed the crisis.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said he has “no confidence” in the WHO.
“WHO contributed to the spread of this virus and to a high mortality rate, frankly, because of its cronyism and its incompetence,” Connolly said.The

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Are we asking the wrong questions about Ebola?

Thu, 2014-11-13 09:46 — mike kraft

BBC NEWS MAGAZINE NOV. 11, 2014

By Ben Carter

The Ebola virus has killed about 5,000 people since March - but one scientist who is studying the statistics says this is not the best figure to consider if we really want to understand the current state of the outbreak and how to beat it.

A total of 4,960 people have died from Ebola this year according to statistics released by the World Health Organisation on 4 November. More than half of those cases - 2,766 - were in Liberia.

But this cumulative figure, which is widely reported, can only go one way - up. It gives no meaningful insight into how the outbreak has developed says Hans Rosling, professor of global health at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden....

Read full story.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30011521

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Ebola: Online briefing now available to the public

Wed, 2014-11-12 21:26 — mike kraft

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS Nov. 12, 2014

The international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders has posted an online briefing on Ebola for aid workers involved in the battle against the haemorrhagic fever. This briefing package is now available to anyone wishing to gain a basic understanding of the virus and how it can be contained.

http://www.msf.org/article/ebola-online-briefing-now-available-public

View the briefing at

http://ecampus.msf.org/moodlemsf/mod/page/view.php?id=22246

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Lawmakers question Obama's $6-billion request for Ebola funding

Wed, 2014-11-12 19:45 — mike kraft

LOS ANGELES TIMES Nov. 12, 2014
By Matt Hansen
Weighing President Obama’s request for billions of dollars in new funding to combat the Ebola virus, lawmakers on Wednesday pressed federal agencies to explain how the additional money would help in the fight against the disease.

Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee debated Obama’s request for $6.18 billion in additional funds to battle the virus, which has infected more than 13,000 people, mostly in West Africa...

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee during a hearing Tuesday in Washington over the government's response to Ebola. (Michael Reynolds / European Pressphoto Agency)

... the request faced skeptical lawmakers who questioned whether additional money would be well spent by a federal government that has struggled at times with containing the epidemic.

“Instead of an effective response, what we’ve witnessed from various agencies is confusing and at times contradictory plans,” Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) said.

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Use of Ebola virus as bioterror weapon highly unlikely: Experts

Wed, 2014-11-12 10:49 — mike kraft

HOMELAND SECURITY NEWS WIRE Nov. 11, 2014

Francisco Martinez, Spain’s state secretary for security, claimed that ISIS fighters are planning to carry out “lone wolf” attacks using biological weapons. He cites conversations uncovered from secret chat rooms used by would-be militants.

Bioterrorism experts say the use of Ebola for bioterrorism is highly unlikely. “Assuming a terrorist organization manages to capture a suitable Ebola host, extract the virus, weaponize the virus, transport the virus to a populated city and deliver the virus, it is entirely likely that the sub-optimal climatic conditions of a Western city will kill it off relatively quickly,” says one expert.
Read complete story
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20141111-use-of-ebola-virus-as-bioterror-weapon-highly-unlikely-experts

CNN Nov. 11, 2014

Meanwhile, in Wellington New Zealand, three suspicious packages with a reference to Ebola were sent to the Parliament building, the US embassy, and a newspaper in what appeared to be a hoax.

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Fast-spreading killers: how Ebola compares with other diseases

Mon, 2014-11-10 11:04 — mike kraft

HOMELAND SECURITY NEWS WIRE Nov. 1, 2014
By Mick Roberts

The West African outbreak of Ebola has claimed more than 4,800 lives and this number is sure to rise. There is understandably a lot of fear about Ebola, but how does it actually compare with other fast-spreading infectious diseases?
Read complete article
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20141110-fastspreading-killers-how-ebola-compares-with-other-diseases

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Models overestimate Ebola cases

Tue, 2014-11-04 20:43 — mike kraft

Rate of infection in Liberia seems to plateau, raising questions over the usefulness of models in an outbreak

NATURE International Weekly Journal of Science Nov. 4, 2014
by Declan Butler

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has infected at least 13,567 people and killed 4,951, according to figures released on 31 October by the World Health Organization (WHO). Now, in a rare encouraging sign, the number of new cases in Liberia seems to be flattening after months of exponential growth. Scientists say it is too soon to declare that the disease is in retreat: case data are often unreliable, and Ebola can be quick to resurge. But it is clear that mathematical models have failed to accurately project the outbreak’s course.

The reality of the Ebola outbreak is not reflected by model projections of high case numbers. Daniel Berehulak/NYT/Redux/eyevine

Researchers are now struggling to understand whether reports of empty beds at treatment centres and declining burial numbers are signs that fewer people are developing Ebola, or whether cases and deaths are going unrecorded.....

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Researchers Study Ebola Link to Gene in Rare Disease

Mon, 2014-11-03 10:26 — mike kraft

WALL STREET JOURNAL Nov 3, 2014

By Amy Dockser Marcus

In the search for answers about Ebola, researchers are starting to look at an unexpected group of people: parents of children who have the rare but fatal genetic disease Niemann-Pick Type C.

Blood and tissue samples from Hugh and Chris Hempel of Reno, Nev., whose children have a rare disease, may help in ongoing Ebola research. Hempel family

The intersection between research in Ebola and NPC disease was surprising, and came after two scientific papers were published in 2011 demonstrating that a protein made by the same gene related to NPC disease is essential for Ebola infection.

Ebola uses the so-called NPC1 protein made by the gene to get into the cell and replicate the virus.

Now, research suggests that the gene that causes NPC disease may also offer protection against Ebola.

Read complete story:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/researchers-study-ebola-link-to-gene-in-rare-disease-1414965218

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